This page is dedicated to the Washington University Putnam seminar. You will find here relevant information, mostly worksheets used and other things pertaining to preparation for the Putnam competition. However, the seminar is not limited to those who have ambitions in the competition: it is also a place to have fun with mathematics. If your goal is simply to learn and challenge yourself, you're absolutely welcome!
Starting on Friday, September 11, we will meet every Friday from 4:10-6:10pm, in Compton 241; free pizza and/or snacks are offered.
THE PUTNAM WILL TAKE PLACE SATURDAY, DEC 5 FROM 10AM-6:15PM (four 90-minute sessions, with a number of breaks) IN COMPTON 241!
Contacts:
Prof. Alexander Seidel - seidel@physics.wustl.edu
Ben Foster - bfoster@wustl.edu
Hsin-Chieh Liao - liaoh@wustl.edu
Ilyas Mustapha - ilyasm@wustl.edu
Week 1 (Sept 11): Mixed bag
Week 2 (Sept 18): Proof techniques
Week 1 (Sept 5): Mixed bag
Week 2 (Sept 12): Proof techniques
Week 3 (Sept 19): Sequences and series
Week 4 (Sept 26): Combinatorics
Week 5 (Oct 10): Polynomials
Week 6 (Oct 17): Analysis
Week 7 (Oct 24): Geometry
Week 8 (Oct 31): Inequalities
Week 9 (Nov 7): Recurrence relations
Week 10 (Nov 14): Linear algebra
Week 11 (Nov 21): Integrals
Self-study: Number theory
Our Google Group (join it for updates on the Putnam seminar): https://groups.google.com/g/2025-washu-putnam/
Putnam competition's official website
https://maa.org/putnam/
Putnam archives (problems and solutions)
https://kskedlaya.org/putnam-archive/
Note: The solutions proposed on both websites are not necessarily the same. The first only has material up to 2017, whereas the other has much more.
General math, from middle school to Putnam level:
https://web.evanchen.cc/ (covers a lot of competition math at various levels)
Putnam specific:
Book Putnam and Beyond through our library https://catalog.wustl.edu/search~S2?/Xputnam+and+beyond&searchscope=2&SORT=DZ/Xputnam+and+beyond&searchscope=2&SORT=DZ&extended=0&SUBKEY=putnam+and+beyond/1%2C71%2C71%2CB/frameset&FF=Xputnam+and+beyond&searchscope=2&SORT=DZ&1%2C1%2C
MIT’s Putnam course https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/18-a34-mathematical-problem-solving-putnam-seminar-fall-2018/
Problem Compilations other than Putnam:
USAMO https://artofproblemsolving.com/wiki/index.php/USAMO_Problems_and_Solutions
A Hong Kong University based publication devoted to tricky problems https://www.math.hkust.edu.hk/excalibur/excalibur.htm